mitchell
Mary A. Mitchell biography
Mary A. Mitchell is an editorial board member and columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. She is a recipient of numerous journalism awards, including the prestigious …
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Mitchell: Robert Larson, who found a boy’s remains, is a hero
Robert Larson is an authentic hero. Larson, of suburban Westchester, found the remains of a baby boy in the Des Plaines River on Tuesday. An autopsy performed on Wednesday was inconclusive to determine whether the boy is Bryeon Hunter, the Maywood boy who disappeared last …Read More
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Family and friends say Sharon Denise Dixon needs psychiatric help
As is too often the case, Sharon Denise Dixon, the former alderman of the 24th Ward, had to do something that landed her in jail before her mental state got attention. Dixon was once a rising star in West Side politics. But on Monday, the …Read More
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Mary Mitchell: Infant found in garbage can thrived because of love
On Jan. 21, 1981, temperatures hovered just above freezing when a man, rummaging through a trash can in an alley in Englewood, made a startling discovery. “I got a call from an ambulance company saying they were bringing in a baby that was abandoned,” recalled …Read More
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Mitchell: Heinous crimes could happen next door and most people wouldn’t have a clue
In horror movies, the sadistic kidnapper takes victims to an isolated place that no one would stumble upon. But in real life, heinous crimes could be happening next door and most of us wouldn’t have a clue. That’s the most shocking part of the Cleveland …
Mitchell: ‘New Jim Crow’ incarcerations raise uncomfortable questions
Michelle Alexander, a civil rights lawyer, and author of “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness,” is raising uncomfortable questions. Although many of us might believe the criminal justice system has its flaws, the notion that the system is intentionally biased …
Former franchise owners’ lawsuit accuses Culver’s of racial bias
Whenever my sister and I drive up to Milwaukee to see my mother, we stop at the Culver’s located right off the highway. Every time I stop, the same thought crosses my mind: Why are there no Culver’s restaurants in my neck of the woods? In a federal lawsuit filed last week, the first black franchisees in the Culver’s system claimed to have an answer to that nagging question. Two former African-American franchise owners accuse Culver’s of refusing to expand its brand into black communities because of racial bias.
Mitchell: City cops fail first heat test
The shooting at 71st and Jeffery on Tuesday evening hit too close to home. I live within walking distance of the corner where four young men were shot, one fatally. In various parts of the city, three men were killed and at least 15 others …
Mitchell: Decision to cancel Brooks-Payton game is a slap in the face
Talk about dropping the ball. The spat between Walter Payton College Preparatory and Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory over a forfeited game brought out the worst in some of us. Several news outlets reported that Payton had to forfeit its game with Brooks because some of …
Mitchell: Message “42” delivers — love conquers hate every time
I did not rush to see “42,” even though the film pays homage to Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era. To be honest, my father ruined baseball for me. I can still hear the drone …
Too angry to cry about Cornelius German
With all due respect to Cornelius’ parents, Ronald German and Timika Rutledge, Cornelius appeared to be the teen concerned parents are trying to protect their kids from. According to police, he was affiliated with a gang and at the time of his death, he was leaving a backyard dice game.
Mitchell: Little Bryeon should be on our minds everyday until he is found
Hope is fading that Bryeon Hunter’s body will be found. The toddler went missing from the Village of Maywood last Tuesday. Three Hispanic males battered her and sped off in a car with her son, according to Lakeshia Baker, the boy’s mother. Within hours, Maywood …
Mitchell: Mother’s claims about boy’s disappearance highlights race
Twenty-four hours after Bryeon Hunter was reported missing from Maywood, police officials from across the west suburbs came together to search the Des Plaines River. Police vehicles and trucks lined both sides of the street on the bridge that separates Maywood from River Forest, its …
Ministers take over Englewood home after family flees from gang
Three days after moving into a house in the 2000 block of West 68th Place in Englewood, a couple was forced to flee after getting into a confrontation with gang members. Phyllis Robinson alleged her family ran afoul of gang members when they put a …Read More
CeaseFire predicts murders will be down this year
Tio Hardiman, director of CeaseFire Illinois, predicted last week that Chicago is turning the corner on homicides. “Normally, there is a spike in reducing homicides during the months of March and April. We are not experiencing that spike so far this year. Whenever you don’t …Read More
MARY MITCHELL: Michelle Obama and community come together for youth
The crowd that filled the ballroom of the downtown Hilton Hotel for the “Get In Chicago” luncheon included many of the people who have long labored behind the scenes to improve the quality of life for black people in this city. Some are politicians. Some …Read More
Black clergy hypocritical on same-sex marriage issue
When it comes to the debate over gay marriage, I have to ask myself: What would Jesus do? Would he organize his disciples to block passage of legislation that would have allowed same-sex marriages to be legal? Or would Jesus have been too busy healing the sick, feeding the hungry and visiting the prisoners to even get involved? I’m not impressed that a group calling itself the African American Clergy Coalition has geared up to battle a bill that would legalize gay marriage in Illinois.
Mitchell: Rahm’s parents raised him not to be scared of a good fight
Sometimes to understand where a person is coming from, it helps to know where the person has been. That’s certainly the case with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who caught many of us by surprise when he swept into the mayor’s office two years ago with a …Read More
Mitchell: Flash mobs should be stripped of their Facebook accounts
Putting more cops on foot and bike patrols on North Michigan Avenue to deal with mobs of unruly black teens may discourage the next flash mob at that location. But what about State Street? Navy Pier? Foster Avenue Beach? Or the hundreds of other public …Read More
Almost 36 years later, rape victim still hoping for justice
MARY MITCHELL: Rosa Pickett will never forget Sept. 3, 1977. It was her sister’s birthday. It also was the day the 17-year-old was sexually assaulted in Robbins while on her way to the birthday party. No one was charged. So when Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart held a community meeting after 51 untested rape kits were found at the Robbins Police Department, she showed up.
All we need is love ... for the poor
I’m not Catholic, so I don’t know much about the Catholic religion. What I do know is this; the humble gestures of Pope Francis cut across religious lines and have renewed my faith that religion still brings light to a dark world. When we have …Read More
